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The Silence of the Lambs

1991Runtime unavailableThrillerHorror

Movie details, ratings, and The Rewatchables episode for The Silence of the Lambs.

On the mic
The Silence of the Lambs1991
RT CRITICS95
RT AUDIENCE95
METACRITIC86
Directed byJonathan DemmeMovie director
On the mic
RT critics95%Tomatometer
RT audience95%Popcornmeter
Metacritic86Critic score

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Where to watch

UNITED STATES

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THE POD'S PICKS

Episode awards

See who or what the hosts picked for each award.

39award categories
EPISODE 366

The Silence of the Lambs (Live from New York)

25 picked · 3 without a winner

Who won the movie?

Picked on the show

Anthony Hopkins

The group agreed Hopkins won the movie overall, even while saying Foster deserved the Oscar.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: Jodie Foster

most rewatchable scene

Picked on the show

the guards in the cell

The room settled on Lecter attacking the guards as the movie's most rewatchable scene, with Clarice's first meeting also getting support.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: the first Clarice-Lecter encounter

What's aged the best other than a face-eating serial killer who's also a genius?

Picked on the show

the Chilton/Mayor Brody villain role

They highlighted Chilton as a great secondary villain, along with the movie's framing, score, poster, and other craft choices.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: the visual framings and reflections

Apex Mountain

Picked on the show

Jonathan Demme for Philadelphia

They split Apex Mountain across several subjects, but named Philadelphia as Demme's peak and discussed a string of other possible peaks by role or object.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: the film itself for Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Q Lazarus, the tuck dance, and other subcategories
Show every award24 more, in episode order

What's the most 1991 thing about this movie?

Picked on the show

Chris Isaak's cameo

Chris Isaak's close-up cameo was named the winner for the most 1991-specific element of the movie.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: Dr. Chilton hitting on Clarice

Fortune Three Clap Award for most gif-able moment

Picked on the show

the tuck dance

The tuck dance was picked as the most gif-able moment, over several other iconic reaction shots and gestures.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: Charles Napier screaming

Great Shot Gorder Award for most cinematic shot

Picked on the show

Buffalo Bill's body hanging like an angel/guide

They chose the hanging body reveal as the movie's most cinematic shot, noting the elaborate staging behind it.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: Lecter in the cell

The Den of Thieves Benihana Award for a scene-stealing location

Picked on the show

Buffalo Bill's dungeon

Buffalo Bill's basement lair was selected as the scene-stealing location.

~ 1:12:00

Kid Cudi Pursuit of Happiness Award

Picked on the show

Goodbye Horses

Goodbye Horses won the music category, though American Girl was also praised heavily.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: American Girl

The Big Kahuna Burger Award for the best use of food or drink

Picked on the show

the ultra-rare lamb chops

The rare lamb chops were named the best food or drink use in the film.

~ 1:12:00

The Brandy Booth Award for best performance by a pet

Picked on the show

Precious

Precious the dog won the pet-performance award.

~ 1:12:00

The Butch's Girlfriend Award for the weak link of the film

Picked on the show

Jack Crawford

Jack Crawford was identified as the weak link and also framed as the most reckless government employee in the movie.

~ 1:12:00

What's aged the worst?

Picked on the show

the sequel and prequel franchise fallout around Hannibal and Hannibal Rising

They treated the later franchise path and the movie's profiling idea as the biggest age-worst issues, alongside a few smaller dated elements.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: the criminal profiling premise

The Ruffalo Hannah Rubinick Partridge overacting award

Picked on the show

Anthony Heald

Anthony Heald was called out as the biggest overactor, with Brooke Smith also mentioned as a possibility.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: Brooke Smith

The Mallory Rubin Award for, did this movie need a better sex scene?

Likely pick

none

Mallory argued for a webisode-style Migs masturbation bonus feature rather than a traditional sex scene, and the room did not pick a stronger alternative.

~ 1:12:00

Hottest Take Award

Picked on the show

Anthony Hopkins's best performance is The Father

They mostly discussed whether Hopkins's best work was here or in The Father, with the latter framed as the hot take.

~ 1:12:00

Casting what ifs

Picked on the show

Jodie Foster as Clarice

The cast-what-ifs centered on the major near-misses, but the room ultimately stayed with the actual casting and praised Foster most strongly.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: Anthony Hopkins as Lecter

that guy

Picked on the show

Buffalo Bill

Buffalo Bill was the easy winner in the that-guy discussion, with several supporting character candidates mentioned along the way.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: Catherine Martin, Chris Isaak, Frankie Faison, and others

Recasting couch director or city?

No winner

No clear winner

They complained about the Pittsburgh shoot substituting for Baltimore, but no alternate director or city recast was seriously chosen.

~ 1:12:00

Tony Romo, Chris Collinsworth, or someone else for the director's commentary?

Picked on the show

Chris Collinsworth

Chris Collinsworth was picked for the imaginary commentary track, with Romo treated as the alternative.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: Tony Romo

Half-hour center research

Picked on the show

the Lecter mask by Ed Cubberly

The research segment covered prop creation, filming locations, real-life inspiration, and production trivia without a single single winner.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: Buffalo Bill's house and the Ed Gein/Gary Heidnik inspirations

Cruise or Hanks for Lecter?

Picked on the show

Tom Cruise

The room agreed Cruise could handle Lecter and basically every male role, while Hanks would fit Crawford.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: Tom Hanks as Crawford

Racehorse, rock band, wrestler, fantasy team name

Picked on the show

Lotion in the basket

They favored 'Lotion in the basket' for the most flexible name category, with several other oddball names tossed out.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: Tuck Dancer, Louis Friend, Hester Moffat

Picking nits

No winner

No clear winner

The hosts ran through logistics and plausibility complaints about the plot, but no single nit was elevated as the definitive one.

~ 1:12:00

Unanswerable questions

No winner

No clear winner

They ended with speculative questions about the film's universe and aftermath, including Miggs, Precious, and Buffalo Bill's habits.

~ 1:12:00

Indian Red Zwaner award for what happened the next day

Picked on the show

Precious gets taken by dog services

The likely aftermath they liked most was Precious being rehomed, though they also floated much darker sequel-style outcomes.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: Lecter eats Chilton and heads to Bimini

What piece of memorabilia would you want from this movie?

Picked on the show

the bottle of lotion with the basket

The lotion-and-basket prop emerged as the best memorabilia choice among the many iconic objects mentioned.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: the Lecter mask

The Coach Finstock award for best life lesson

Picked on the show

never help somebody move furniture

The clear takeaway was to avoid helping a creepy stranger move a couch into a van.

~ 1:12:00
EPISODE 5

The Silence of the Lambs

9 picked · 2 without a winner

Who won the movie

Picked on the show

Jonathan Demme

When asked to choose the movie’s winner, they explicitly settle on Jonathan Demme.

~ 0:56:00Runner-up: Anthony Hopkins

Most rewatchable scene

Picked on the show

Lecter attacking the two officers

They agree that Lecter calmly taking out the two officers is the movie’s standout sequence.

~ 0:16:00Runner-up: the full Lecter-to-ambulance sequence

What's aged the best

Likely pick

the concept of serial killers and the movie’s music

They circle around several candidates, but the conversation settles on the concept of the serial killers and the creepy music as the strongest aging well.

~ 0:24:00Runner-up: the Lecter mask and stretcher imagery

Apex Mountain

Picked on the show

Anthony Hopkins

They directly choose Hopkins as the film’s Apex Mountain, while acknowledging Demme’s broader career peak separately.

~ 0:48:00Runner-up: Jonathan Demme
Show every award7 more, in episode order

Best casting

No winner

No clear winner

The transcript only references that the casting what-ifs had already been discussed and does not support a clear winner in this window.

~ 0:16:00

What's aged the worst

Likely pick

the title graphics

After considering several items, they land on the opening title graphics as the clearest thing that has dated poorly.

~ 0:32:00Runner-up: the Crawford-Starling relationship

The Dion Waiters Award

Picked on the show

Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill

They explicitly treat Ted Levine’s Buffalo Bill as the runaway heat-check performance.

~ 0:48:00

Unintentional comedy awards

Likely pick

Put the lotion in the basket

Among several funny candidates, the room clearly gravitates to the lotion-in-the-basket sequence as the funniest accidental comedy.

~ 0:48:00Runner-up: Migs

Picking nits

Likely pick

Jack Crawford’s risky handling of Clarice and the investigation

They criticize several practical lapses, led by Crawford sending Clarice into danger and the guards’ negligence with Lecter.

~ 0:56:00Runner-up: the two guards who failed to secure Lecter

Best quote

Likely pick

A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with fava beans and a nice glass of Chianti.

They highlight Lecter’s famous line as the signature quote, with the lotion line also getting strong mention.

~ 0:56:00Runner-up: It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again

Unanswerable questions

No winner

No clear winner

This section is presented as a list of open questions rather than a single resolved choice.

~ 0:56:00

About these picks Winners come from the episode transcript. Timestamps may be a little off.

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